Europe’s new entry-exit system, forcing travellers to take fingerprints and facial biometrics from British and worldwide travellers to Europe, is supposed to be complete, but is having problems.
EES went live at some European airports on October 12 2025. The EU has been rolling out the new digital border system, called the entry-exit system. And if you’re a non-EU national, such as citizens of the US, UK, Canada, or Australia, crossing into the Schengen area, it applies to you.
The Schengen Area
The Schengen Area is a massive passport-free travel zone encompassing 29 European countries. Within the zone, member nations have abolished internal border controls, allowing citizens and international travelers to move freely between countries without showing a passport or undergoing border checks.
EES Fingerprints and Facial Biometrics Database
The idea is to replace traditional passport stamps with a central database that logs every entry and exit, tracks the 90-day stay limit, and flags suspected criminals or identity fraud.
The first time you cross a Schengen border under EES, you’ll be asked for fingerprints and a facial scan. Children under 12 are exempt from fingerprinting. After that initial registration, the system is supposed to rely on facial recognition alone for future crossings, though a lot of travellers are reporting that they’re being asked for fingerprints again on subsequent visits anyway — that seems to be inconsistent across different border points.
Registration doesn’t expire with your passport.
Registration for EES will last for three years from your last crossing, and EES tracks you as a person, not a specific document. If you get a new passport, your file will just get updated rather than restarted.
Anyone with an EU passport will be allowed to skip all of this entirely. No fingerprints or facial biometrics, just a fast-track document check. For UK travellers, this is a direct consequence of Brexit, because had the UK remained in the EU, none of this would apply to British travellers at all.
Connections, Cruises, and Transit
The problem as to whether EES applies to you isn’t always obvious. Especially if you’re transiting through a Schengen hub. If you’re flying from the UK into Amsterdam or Frankfurt and continuing on a single through-ticket to somewhere outside Schengen, you won’t be required to go through EES. However, if any leg of your journey connects within the Schengen area, or if you’ve self-connected by booking two separate flights, you’ll need to clear immigration and EES will apply.
For cruises departing from a UK port and returning to one, you’re likely exempt, even if the ship stops in Schengen ports along the way. If you disembark and stay in a Schengen country, though, that’s a different matter.
Countries Have Already Gone Off-script
The rollout hasn’t gone entirely smoothly across Europe. The full system was supposed to be complete by April 2026, and that deadline was missed. The new target is September 2026. In the UK, kiosks have been installed at London St Pancras, but aren’t in use. Dover, Eurotunnel, and Eurostar say they’re ready and are estimating about two minutes added per traveller. But for now, passengers are being processed manually.
Greece has taken the most dramatic step by declaring British passport holders exempt from biometric registration at Greek border crossings altogether, citing congestion concerns. Elsewhere across the Schengen the border staff is allowed to suspend biometric checks when queues get long enough.
The rollout of EES has also been marred by software glitches, chronic border staffing shortages, and delayed mobile app rollouts. These technical and logistical hurdles have caused significant bottlenecks and have forced some major transport hubs to temporarily revert to manual passport processing
ETIAS Comes Next
EES is only the first part of the planned system. Once EES is fully operational, the EU plans to launch ETIAS. ETIAS is a pre-travel authorisation permit and is €20, valid for three years and will be required for British travellers before they enter the Schengen. Think of ETIAS as the EU’s version of the US ESTA. It won’t be mandatory until at least six months after EES is fully live, which, based on current delays, likely puts it sometime in 2027. The only legitimate site will be europa.eu/etias.
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